Erin's Fear
by xXConner65Xx
Summary: Two American gamers enter the world of Sword art online. Mason and Erin are very close friends, and they decide to embark on their journey in the game together. Will Erin have the courage to face her fears as when she looses that most precious to her?
1. Mason and Erin

Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters/products in this story, except for Mason and Erin. All rights of Sword Arts Online go to the original creators of the Novel/Manga/Anime. Please enjoy!

3482, Songbird Drive

Jackson, Tennessee

"Mason?" A knock came at Mason's door, following the voice. Mason instantly recognized the voice as Erin. The boy pushed off the floor, his rolling office chair sending him towards the door. He flipped the lock on the nob, which turned. The door swung inward, and Erin peeked inside. At his computer, Mason minimized the program he'd had open, and turned around.

"Hey." He said casually as Erin stepped in. The girl closed the white door behind her, and set her bag down.

"Hey…" She reached down into her bag, and produced a red and black Alien-ware laptop. She set it down on a table beside Mason's bed. "You got 'em?"

"Yep." Mason took two cases from his desk drawer. The title read Sword Art Online. Erin took one of the game cases, popped out the disc, and inserted it into her computer.

"How will I find you?" She asked, the thought just occurring to her. Mason handed her a grey headgear set, which had the words Nerve Gear printed on the top. Erin plugged the USB end of the Nerve Gear into the USB port on the back of her laptop.

"If it's the same as the closed BETA, there'll be a fountain in the middle of the spawn zone. I'll wait for you on the east side of the fountain. You'll spawn facing north." Mason set the Nerve Gear on his desk, and went to his closet, beside the desk. He pulled out a spare mattress and dropped it on the ground beside the tower of his computer. "You can get on my bed, and I'll lay on the mattress."

"Are you sure about this? Its… just extremely bizarre, the whole concept…" Erin said, slightly nervous about playing.

"The BETA test was great, and I have zero regrets." Mason assured her. She still seemed skeptic. Mason looked directly into Erin's eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be right with the entire time." He got down on the bare mattress, and put his headgear on.

"Alright…" Erin got onto Mason's bed and put the headgear on, pressing down her dark brown hair. "I'm ready…I guess…"

"Say 'Link Start' on three." He began count. "Three."

"Two." Erin said back.

"One." Mason said.

"Link Start!" They both said simultaneously.

Erin saw bright colors, whirling past her. She logged in with the credentials which Mason had texted her last night. Another menu came up; Language Select. She chose English, and the screen flashed. A black room appeared before her, a white, mannequin-like figure appeared. Then a menu of apparel popped up, which Erin chose from.

Erin ended up a white, waist length tunic, black pants, and brown, shin length boots. Finally, Erin added a dark grey breastplate to her appearance, entered her name as "Erin" and she proceeded. When the area flashed white again, Erin found herself in a large courtyard area, facing a large gateway. She looked around. East…

Erin turned to her right, knowing that it was east. She looked around, searching for Mason. She searched the massive sea of people, but to no avail.

"Erin." A voice said, and hand gripped her shoulder, she was startled, and whipped around. Mason's face was engulfed in opaque shadows, under a black hood.

"Lord, Mason you scared the heck out of me." She whined.

"Well don't be so jumpy." Mason joked. "Gosh if someone you didn't know tried to talk to you here, you'd probably freeze up and run away."

"Yeah, whatever" She shot back. Mason wore a grey, long sleeved shirt and pants under his cloak, and shin high boots, just like Erin's. Mason shrugged his shoulders, the cloak pulling back, revealing a long sword. Erin looked down and saw she had a sword like his, sheathed and buckled to a belt around her white tunic. I suppose he's right... In a whole, Mason was the only person whom Erin would talk to period. Only if he was around would she talk to anyone else, if at all.

"Come on, lets go find a potion vender before we go train." Mason said and gently nudged her on. He stopped. "Oh yeah, I ordered a pizza, it'll be here real soon." He turned to her. "Ya wanna go get it while I get the potions?"

"Um...yeah, I guess." Erin swiped her hand, as Mason reached the potion shop. The menu popped up and Erin tapped looked for the logout option. Her eyes scanned the blue tabs. Mason came back, swiping his hood off. He saw the confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Mason asked.

"Theres...theres no logout button..." Erin said.

"What do you mean?" He swiped the menu open, and looked around. "Holy crap...you're right...we...we can't logout."

"W-whats going on Mason?" Erin demanded.

"Don't worry, Erin. Theres probably a bug in the game...I'm sure they'll fix it no time." Mason's attempt to calm her down didn't seem to work. "Every things gonna be oka-"

A voice rang out. System Announcement! The sky turned from the blue and white beauty, to red hexagons, a large Warning sign flashed around. A figure appeared above them. He began to speak, his voice loud and thundering.

"Hello players, my name is Kayaba Aihiko." He continued talking. "As you have noticed, there is no logout button in the menu. This is not a defect in the game, I repeat this is not a defect in the game. Nor can someone on the outside log you out. If your Nerve Gear is removed your brains will be destroyed." The entire crowd erupted into chaos. "The only way out, is to clear the game. I have sent each one of you a gift. Please look and see." Erin and Mason both checked their gifts, and a mirror materialized. They both took the mirrors in their hands, and gazed into them.

Erin saw Mason's face change, from his in-game face, to his real life one. Mason looked at her.

"You look like...like you...not your avatar..." Mason gasped. Kayaba Akihiko resumed his talking but Mason didn't pay attention, as he saw a tear slide down Erin's cheek. She looked him in the eyes.

"M-mason...we're...we're s-stuck in here...Mason..." He rushed and embraced her, wrapping his arms around her back.

"Listen to me, Erin." He said, holding back a tear. "We're going to be fine. We are going to make it out." Mason saw Erin's tears rush down, dripping off her chin.

"I'm going to die here!" She said between sobs. Mason rubbed his hand on her shoulder as she buried her head in his chest. "I'm going to die!" Her squeezed her tight against his body.

"No you won't Erin!" He commanded. "I'll not let you!" He felt her tears wet his tunic. "I'll protect you till my last breath!"

Kayaba Akihiko disappeared, and the sky returned to blue. The crowd was in Chaos, frantic panic everywhere.

"What do we do?" Erin asked softly, as she pulled back.

"We play the game."


	2. Mason's Glory

Erin and Mason stood in the center of town on Floor 37. Mason scanned the crowd for the sign of an Inn. "Over there." Erin pointed with her right index finger. Mason turned to where she indicated.

"Ah." The two of them made their way to the building, and stepped in. Mason quickly bought a room for two nights. "Come on." He motion her forward, and Erin strained a smile. Mason knew she wasn't all too pleased about sharing a room with him. It wasn't that she was selfish, but because she was so timid. However, they couldn't afford to purchase two rooms, what with the money spent on their gear

The went down the hallway, up the stairs and Mason went to the room they'd been given. He opened the door and went in, and Erin followed behind. Mason sat in a chair in the corner of the room, while Erin occupied the bed per usual. About ten minutes later, Erin laid on the bed, under the warmth of the blanket. Mason sat in the chair, bent over the latest issue of the weekly Argo. His chest was bare, and his feet were as well. Erin couldn't understand how he dealt with the cold so well. Especially in the dead of winter...

Mason mumbled various words to himself, which Erin caught now and then. "Frontline...Holy Dragons...Knights of the Blood Oath..." Erin recognized them as the names of two of the head guilds in Aincrad, who all battled in the front lines. Erin watched him as his eyes were fixated on the Argo.

He...He should be out in the front lines...He could help if he was out there...But he's stuck here with me instead... Erin hated herself for being so weak.

"Mason?" She asked. He looked away from the Argo and faced her.

"What's up?" He set the Argo on the table.

"Can we go out and Level tomorrow?" Erin sat up in the bed. Mason considered a few options.

"Well...I've got to go to Lindas tomorrow. It's up on 48, so I'll be gone the majority of the day."

"What's in Lindas?" Erin inquired.

"A blacksmith called Lisbeth. She's apparently one of the best in Aincrad." Mason explained. "I've got to get my sword upgraded and fixed." Erin nodded. "I guess we could go at night."

"Alright..." Erin laid back down.

"Why so eager to level up all of the sudden?" Mason asked.

"I..." Erin looked for the right words. "I want to help...but I'm too weak...I want to be strong like you..."

The answer took Mason aback. It was true...Erin wasn't a strong player by any means. She was only level 29, and he was level 59. It came mostly from him dealing with the monster whenever they encountered them. Also it had come from her lack of time spent leveling. In the first few months, Mason had gone at night to level while she slept in town. It wasn't secret. Erin was just still so reserved since the release of the game, and she'd rather stay safe in town.

"Erin...just because you're level 29, doesn't mean you're not a strong player." Mason said. "Last week, this player that was level 72 died in a boss fight because he thought he could take it down by sheer strength. He was a high level, but he died."

"I guess you're right..." Erin said, and rolled onto her side, and closed her eyes...

Erin woke to the sound of Mason's voice. "Holy Crap..." Erin saw him staring at his menu. His messages were open. Erin sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"W-what's the matter?" Erin inquired sleepily. It took a moment for Mason to respond.

"The..." He stammered. "I got an invitation to join the Knights of the Blood Oath."

Erin's mouth hung open. "Are you serious?" Mason shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah..."

"Well? Are you gonna join?" Erin asked.

"They want me to come to their base in Grandum on floor 55." Mason explained.

"Thats a long way..." Erin said, thrusting the blanket off of her legs.

"It takes about an entire day to get there from here." He stood up, opened his menu and put on his shirt, boots, and his sword. "I've got to get moving if I want to get there by tonight."

"Would you...can I come with you?" Erin didn't like being alone period, and Mason knew that well. Mason nodded.

"Of course you can. We just need to hurry." Mason moved to the door, as Erin equipped her gear, and followed."


End file.
